“We do, but there are some things that require your immediate attention.”
Strange, Dinah thought—she felt oddly uneasy with the Yurkei gone. To the people of Wonderland, their presence was an occupation, a dark threat outside their gates. To Dinah, they had been a reassurance, a protector. She sighed and turned to Cheshire. “Walk with me. I hear the groundskeepers are beginning repairs on the Croquet Lawn. Shall we go see?”
Cheshire bowed. “Nothing would please me more.”
They carefully descended the steep wooden stairs of the turret and began making their way through the outlying business districts.
“Now, tell me what requires my attention most.”
“First, Your Majesty, do you still plan on marrying Wardley in a few months’ time? Though we have given him his due titles, I am still not sure that he is the correct choice to sit on the throne beside you.”
“And why not?”
“He is not of royal blood, for one. His family is of noble birth, but there are much more deserving lords and ladies who have a wealth of sons, all longing to marry the seductive black-eyed queen.”
Dinah stayed silent, her hands sweaty underneath her plum-colored gown.
“Gambling on one of these young men, who would add handsomely to the treasury, might be worth your consideration.”
Dinah grumbled under her breath. Cheshire continued.
“There is also the question of heirs. Should you marry Wardley, would it be a marriage that would produce sons and daughters to take the throne after you? Forgive me for speaking frankly, but if you choose Wardley for your king, am I correct in assuming that it would be a marriage of”— he paused—“friendship?”
Dinah stopped walking as shame overtook her, and her face burned with embarrassment. She whirled on Cheshire. “You step outside your bounds, sir. Wardley will be my king. This was decided in our treaty with the Yurkei. We would not do well to change our plans. Mundoo likes Wardley. He trusts him. And so do I. He must be king.” And he will grow to love me as I desire. He has to.
Cheshire remained silent as they walked, finally arriving at the bright green lawn. Dozens of Cards labored in the waning light, fixing the landscape, polishing the statues, and removing the broken remnants of war. Dinah was proud to see progress made so quickly. Soon, the palace would shine again.
“Please continue with the next order of business, Cheshire.”
He stared at her for a moment before his sly face twisted up in a smile, the newly grown beard on his chin making his face even more catlike than before. “Your Majesty, there is the question of what we should do with the king’s body and head. Shall he be buried in your family tomb inside the palace? Or should we just burn him and throw out the remains with the filth from the day’s chamber pots?” He gave a low chuckle, unnerving Dinah.
They stopped walking to let a few peacocks and flamingos strut past. Dinah recognized Vittiore’s white peacock, Gryphon.
“Do we have his Heartsword?”
“Yes.”
Dinah closed her eyes for a moment. “Build a small stone mount inside of the castle to hold the Heartsword. Have a smith engrave his name upon the sword. His ashes can be sealed inside the stone, but make the stone no higher than waist level. No one will look up to him.”
Cheshire pulled a small scrap of paper from his pocket and scribbled upon it. “I will see to that this evening. As for the monument for your brother . . .”
Dinah turned to face him. “Charles should be in the gardens just outside his window. He should be able to see the stars from where he rests. Hire our best stoneworker to create something that Charles would love. I would like no penny spared for where he is laid, is that understood?”
Dinah blinked back a few tears and continued walking. Cheshire laid a hand on her shoulder. “Do you miss him?”
Dinah swallowed the longing in her throat. “I grieve him now even more than I did the day after his murder.”
“Why?”
“Because I was running for my life, surviving. I didn’t have time to grieve. But now that I am in this palace again, without him, it feels so empty, the wound so fresh. Without Charles, I am lost here.”
She didn’t mention to Cheshire that every night she had taken to wandering through the castle, with Ki-ershan following silently behind, and that she always ended up in the same place—Charles’s empty room, staring up at the window that sent him into that dead, still night.
She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I miss him so much.”
Cheshire smiled at her. “It will pass. Your brother was a damaged creature, and perhaps it is better for your rule to be untethered by such needy madness. He was not fit for rule, nor fit to share the blood of the queen.”
Dinah stared up at him, aghast. “My father or not, you may never speak such things again! Charles was my brother, and his death will haunt me until the day I die.” Her eyes cloudy, she stared unwaveringly at the setting sun. “The King of Hearts murdered him to frame me, and the guilt suffocates me from dawn until dusk. Do not presume that my life is easier without him.”
A flush rose on Cheshire’s cheeks as he bowed low before Dinah. “Dinah, my queen, I didn’t mean to offend, I only meant—”
“I know what you meant. Please, let’s just continue on. I am eager to see the process of rebuilding my palace and army.”
They walked and talked together, father and daughter. As the sun dipped in the sky, Dinah could hardly imagine darkness returning.
But come it did, from a most familiar place.
Thirteen
Days later, Dinah awoke in the middle of the night, convinced there was someone in her room. She sat up with a gasp, her hands moving to find the dagger underneath her pillow. She pushed herself up from the bed, her heart pounding wildly. She looked around her dark chambers frantically, the dagger poised to fling. There was no one in the room. Dinah clutched her chest, willing her heart to stop galloping. She was safe. There was no one here. She had been dreaming—something dark and twisted, something she barely remembered.
Dinah’s breathing returned to normal as she watched Ki-ershan’s shadow pacing just outside the door. If Ki-ershan wasn’t leaping into action, then she knew there was no one in the room. Whatever had awakened her so suddenly was gone. Harris’s loud snores echoed through the room, the low barrier between their chambers hardly enough to hold back the sound.